One of Scotland’s oldest charities has launched a new name and vision as it publishes research which shows a growing number of people in Largs and Millport are living with sight loss.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has officially launched the change of historic charity Royal Blind’s name to Sight Scotland and its sister charity Scottish War Blinded changing to Sight Scotland Veterans.

The charities have set out plans for their new ambition to reach out and support significantly more people with sight loss across the whole of Scotland. There are currently nearly 5,000 people living with sight loss in North Ayrshire.

Mark O’Donnell, Chief Executive of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans said: “Every hour in Scotland someone starts to lose their sight, and today there are nearly 5,000 people in North Ayrshire living with visual impairment. This is why we need to provide more support in the future. For over two hundred years our charities have worked to support people with visual impairment of every age."

For more details, go to sightscotland.org.uk